A federal jury has convicted a Philadelphia man in a New Jersey safe heist in which he and a partner stole more than $2 million in money orders and cash.
Ruben Cruz now faces the possibility of decades in prison and more than $1 million in fines, according to a release issued by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of New Jersey on Friday.
Over the July Fourth weekend in 2021, Cruz, 33, of Philadelphia and Davenport, Fla., and Ricky Rivas-Ortiz, 43, also of Philadelphia, crossed state lines and took $2,010,599 in U.S. currency and money orders from a safe in a Glassboro auto dealership, according to court records.
Rivas-Ortiz worked with the dealership as a hauler, according to the indictment.
Soon after the theft, Cruz opened bank accounts and proceeded to alter money orders and deposit hundreds of thousands of dollars into them, according to the indictment.
Prosecutors said Cruz and another co-conspirator deposited some money orders on the same day at different banks next door to each other and others at the same branch over several consecutive days, according to the release.
Cruz was convicted of one count of conspiracy to transport stolen property across state lines, one count of interstate transportation of stolen property, one count of conspiracy to launder money, and seven counts of money laundering. A jury found him guilty Thursday following a three-day trial before U.S. District Judge Christine P. O’Hearn in Camden federal court.
Cruz’s sentencing is set for Feb. 24, 2027.
For Cruz, the count of conspiracy to transport stolen property interstate carries a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, or twice the gross loss to the victim or gain to the defendant, whichever is greatest.
The count of interstate transportation of stolen property carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, or twice the gross loss to the victim or gain to the defendant, whichever is greatest.
The count of conspiracy to launder money and each money laundering count carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $500,000, or twice the value of the laundered money, whichever is greatest, according to the release.
Rivas-Ortiz was sentenced in June to 21 months in prison and two years of supervised release to follow his prison term after pleading guilty to transporting stolen property, according to U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer’s office.